Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Insert Beatdown of a Different Kind Here (part 1 of 3)

This story starts off with the Society Agent Kyle laying in his room,
listening to one particular song. The fact that he has been listening
to this song on repeat for over an hour doesn't bother him at all. It
had a mystical sound to it, which he loved. It was during one of the
countless replays that Kyle heard a knock on his door. With a bit of
annoyance that someone was interrupting, he sat up, paused his music and
then said.

"You can come in."

His door opened and Aster
came in. For a moment, she looked around his room. After all, it's rare
for anyone but the leaders to come to Kyle's room for any reason. It was
relatively empty save for Kyle's bed, a desk, which only held some
notebooks and the stand for his Omni-weapon, and an empty trashcan.
There was a closest, which was empty as he kept everything in his Astral
Vault. When Kyle cleared his throat, Aster snapped her attention to
him.

"Umm... That song you were listening to just now. It was Sora's Folktale, right?"

Kyle
gave her a surprised glance before replying, "You know your anime. That
was obscure enough that I didn't expect any other member of the Society
to know it."

Aster gave him a grin as she responded, "Don't underestimate my knowledge of anime and manga kyaa~!"

He shrugged, "I guess not. So, you only wanted to ask me about the song?"

She
kinda looked towards the ceiling in a thinking gesture. With a clap of
realization, she said, "Oh yeah!...I've been wanting to talk with you
about that power of yours."

Kyle's expression got serious when she
said that. Shifting himself and straightening up, he asked, "Which
power are you talking about here?"

"Umm...the one you used when you dissolved that misaimed fireball."

-

FLASHBACK

Aster
was in the middle of reading a manga...don't ask which one, it's not
important to the story. Anyway, she wasn't paying the usual chaos of the
Library any attention until she heard someone shout.

"LOOK OUT!"

Not
knowing who that was directed at, she looked up for a moment. There was
Kyle in his usual leisure wear, (sandals, sweatpants and a t-shirt),
with a sports drink in his hand while eating some jerky. He also heard
the shout, turning to face it with some jerky hanging out of his mouth.
That's when both Kyle and Aster saw it, a fireball about the size of his
chest heading in his direction. Kyle just gave it a blank stare as it
sped towards him. However, just as it was getting close, he seemed to
concentrate for a moment and then the fireball shrunk to nothing. Aster
seemed surprised, but then turned back to her manga without a second
thought.

END FLASHBACK

-

Kyle
blinked as the flashback faded. Aster looked at him expectantly.
Massaging his forehead for a moment, he asked, "Anything specific that
you want to know? I have a hard time explaining without specifics."

Aster took a moment to think and then said, "How does it compare to my powers?"

Kyle
had a facefault for a moment before he started massaging his forehead
again. Flinging both arms outward, he accessed his Astral Vault, pulling
out a bottle of headache medicine and a sports drink. He popped a
couple of pills into his mouth and then drank all of the drink in one
breath. With that done, he returned the medicine and threw empty sports
drink into the trashcan, which vanished as soon as it entered. Aster
just watched Kyle throughout this.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kyle
spoke up, "I'm not completely sure how my Energy Manipulation powers
stack against your Elemental abilities because I don't know how they
work in comparison. My power comes from the understanding of different
types of energy and how they work. For all I know, your power could use
energy that I don't even know exists."

"I see," Aster said, kind
of disappointed. Then she perked up, clapped her hands and said, "If you
know of the energy I control, maybe you could use it too!"

Kyle
shook his head, "I have to do more than just know of it. I have to
understand it. Recorded types of energy are easy to understand because
they have already been studied. This includes types like Ki and Chakra.
If I wanted to, I could use those, but I choose not to and instead just
use my understanding to defend against them."

Aster seemed kind of
dumbfounded, no surprise there, taking a moment before she responded,
"I don't understand. If you can use those energies, then why don't you?"

"Personal
choice for one thing. Not wanting to be a Stu is another. Power may be
as versatile as the imagination of the user, but it's the user's will
that keeps that power in check," Kyle stated sagely.

"Huh?" Aster was confused. She just stood there for a few moments in thought before she continued, "I don't get it."

Sighing
in resignation, Kyle unpaused the song, laying down and letting it soak
into his mind once more while remaining aware of an extra person in his
room. To her credit, Aster stood there silently listening to the song
and watching its effect on Kyle. Other than his eyes remaining open, you
couldn't tell he was awake by looking at him. Of course, this is the
Anti-Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society. Not even Kyle's room stays
so peaceful for long. The song was starting another playthrough when
Kyle's communicator started beeping.

Growling in annoyance, Kyle paused the song again and answered with a snippy, "Yes?"

"Well, someone's grouchy today," Adrian's voice came out of the communicator.

"Sorry,
everyone seems to want to intrude on my music right now. How can I
help?" Kyle apologized to the leader. Adrian's voice came through the
communicator again.

"I know you've been restless recently. What,
with the downtime you had since your last mission and Tash ordering you
to slow down your training during it. Anyway, since it's been awhile,
I've found a mission for you. All you need is a partner and whatever
preparations you think you might need to do and then you're set to go."

Aster heard this and started bouncing on her heels, repeatedly shouting, "I'll go, I'll go!"

Kyle
facepalmed for a moment before saying into his com-unit, "As much as I
think this decision will annoy me later, I'll not waste any time looking
and just take Aster with me."

He could almost hear sympathy in
the reply as Aster went from shouting 'I'll go' to 'Yay!', "Alright
then, glad that's out of the way. Your target fandom is called Touhou.
Be careful, we've been getting some weird readings, though they haven't
been listed as anything dangerous. How much time do you think you need
for preparation?"

"Depending on Aster, all I should need is a
quick meal before I go. I learned my lesson from my Street Fighter
mission; never go on a mission without eating first."

-

Kyle
and Aster exited a portal and found themselves on the border of a
relatively normal looking forest. While they couldn't really identify
the types of trees, the trees themselves weren't very tall so there was
plenty of sunlight to see with. Kyle crossed his arms and thought aloud
as Aster decided to take in some sights.

"Let's see, forest of
normalish trees inside the Touhou Fandom. The only place that comes to
mind is the Forest of Magic. Thankfully, we weren't put inside that
forest. It has a reputation of being very unpleasent to even prepared
intruders. Let's not go there unless we direly have to. Alright,
Aster?...Aster?" Kyle stopped his thinking and looked around, not seeing
the fae Society member. Just before he could have an 'Oh Crap' moment,
he heard her call out.

"Kyle-kun, I've found a deserted building.
Come quick, come quick!" With a quick facepalm, he headed in the
direction he heard Aster's voice. Upon getting close enough to see the
building in question clearly, Kyle paused in shock. It was an older
style Japanese building with only one story and a wooden door on the
front. Along the outside of the building, one could see various odds and
ends that were common to most people; a kayak, a street sign, a
refrigerator, several tires, the list goes on. Kyle knew instantly what
this place was and who it belonged to.

"I don't think anyone's
here. I've tried knocking and calling out to someone, but I haven't
gotten an answer." Aster seemingly popped up right beside the still
paused Kyle. Kyle snapped back to reality and flinched a little in
surprise. Taking a breath, Kyle calmed himself and then walked up to the
door. Trying the handle and finding it locked, Kyle said in a loud
voice.

"Rinnosuke, you here? Rinnosuke?" When there was no
response after a minute or so, Kyle pounded on the door for a moment or
two. Of course, that was similar to what Aster said she did, but Kyle
kind of hoped that the owner would respond to his name before trying
force. Still, nobody came to the door and Kyle was getting annoyed.
Deciding that he had enough of waiting, he took out his Omni-weapon from
his Astral Vault. Of course, most people, including Aster, would think
that he'd bust down the door or destroy it in some way. Instead, Kyle
held the Omni-weapon over the keyhole and then turned it. He heard a
click, prompting him to put his Omni-weapon away.

With a sense of
confidence, Kyle grasped the doorhandle and opened the door. Aster was
surprised, though that shouldn't be so surprising. Anyway, the door
opened on rusty hinges, creaking as sunlight entered the building once
more. In the newfound light, even more odds and ends like the ones
outside were on display. One thing was also clear with the light; nobody
had been in this place for a long time. The place was dusty and small
animals fled at the intrusion. Kyle was suspicious about the state of
the place. After all, he knew this fandom and he wouldn't believe that
the owner of the building would just up and leave.

"Kyle-kun! I
think something's watching us!" Aster was facing away from the entrance
of the building, looking this way and that as she tried to find whoever
was spying. Turning around, Kyle took a few seconds to look. After a
moment, he concentrated and out of a hole in his Astral Vault, came a
transparent green visor with a line leading back to the hole. He took
off his glasses and put the visor in their place.

"Eh,
Kyle-kun...What is that?" Aster said as she saw him with the visor over
his eyes. She could see lines and text through the transparent surface.

"It's
a personal HUD that lets me see in Augmented Reality by a connection to
a computer system I keep in my Astral Vault," was his reply to her
question. The visor was scanning as Kyle looked one way and then the
other for this spy that Aster thought she felt.

"What's Augmented
Reality? I don't understand," said Aster, obviously confused. Kyle
closed his eyes for a moment as he felt a headache coming on.

"Alright
then. This visor lets me see things that normal eyes can't. That's as
simple as I can get it." After that, Kyle fell quiet as his visor
continued scanning. Aster got a look of comprehension from this new
information. Kyle's visor finally locked onto something to his right
just as Aster shouted.

"Kyle-kun, over there!" He turned in
response to both and saw what could only be described as a portal.
Unlike the holes into Kyle's Astral Vault, which only appear black if
visible, this portal showed a completely different location. On the
other side of it was a woman that Kyle would describe as tall, meaning
taller than him. She had long blonde hair with a pink mop hat on her
head. Her clothing consisted of a dress that was combination of eastern
and western styles plus oriental socks and shoes. Kyle recognized her
instantly.

"Yukari Yakumo, the youkai mistress of boundaries,"
Kyle stated the person's identity to Aster as he let the visor return to
his Astral Vault and placed his glasses back on his face. With a clear
smile on her face, the woman on the other side of the spatial opening
started waving for them to come to her. He was a bit weary of her, but
Kyle wanted to know what was going on so he walked towards the portal.
Aster followed behind him and then Kyle stopped them both short of
entering.

"I'm assuming you can hear me through there. Yukari, what has happened to Rinnosuke? He's not in his shop."

Yukari
frowned and sighed before she responded, "That Mary Sue you two are
after dissolved the Gensokyo boundary. I can feel her power still
lingering and until something can be done about it, I can't use my power
while over there. Shortly after the boundary vanished, everything
mythical faded from Gensokyo. There was no longer any distinction
between humans, youkai, and everything else that lived here except for
appearances."

Kyle crossed his arms as he said, "Wait a minute.
The only way I can think of for a Sue to dissolve the Gensokyo barrier
would be getting the better of you and that would mean defeating you in
battle. That or she's more powerful than you are and I doubt even a Sue
could be THAT powerful."

"It's nice to know that you think so
highly of me," Yukari smiled at the implied complement. She sighed again
as she continued, "Well, Spell Card Battles are a fair way to fight in
Gensokyo, so it's not too big a stretch for me to lose. I was weak for
just a moment after the battle was over and she took that chance to use a
spell to send me to another dimension and then place a seal on Gensokyo
to prevent me from returning long enough to fulfill her purpose. That's
what I get for being lazy."

Kyle uncrossed his arms as the logic
of that set in. Then something she had said just a moment ago hit him,
"Wait, how'd you know we were after the Mary Sue that did this?"

She
giggled, "You're familiar with my power, so it shouldn't be surprising
that I know of the Anti-Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society. Isn't
that right, Kyle?"

He nodded his head in concession to that. Kyle
knew that Yukari could manipulate any boundary she wanted, both physical
and metaphysical ones. Heck, one of her best spell cards was called the
Boundary of Life and Death.

After a few moments, Kyle spoke up, "So, you were waiting for us? Why is that?"

Yukari
frowned, "Though I can't use my power over there, I can still
manipulate physical boundaries to and from its places. Thus, until that
Sue is dealt with, I'll have to rely on the two of you."

Kyle
facepalmed, "How is that different from how you normally handle problems
within Gensokyo? You're always manipulating others to handle the dirty
work for you."

"I'll admit to that... however, this time, I do it
out of necessity. Look, I know it's your job to track down and capture
Sues and Stus, but you'll find it much easier if you let me help you."

Kyle
sighed in resignation as he had to admit that she had a point. After a
moment, he asked, "What are you going to have us do?"

"First I
will send you to the city where the Sue resides, " Yukari explained as a
portal appeared a few feet away from Kyle and Aster. Through it, they
could see a sprawling city with several skyscrapers. "Then, I want you
to gather as many of the residents of Gensokyo that you know of as you
can find. With what I have in mind, they'll all want in on it."

She
paused, giving Kyle a look that asked if he understood. When he nodded,
she continued, "Be careful, as that portal is the closest I can get to
the city with my power. The sue's power may even affect you two when you
get there."

Taking a moment, Kyle pulled the Omni-weapon out of
his Astral Vault and then slid it into his outfit. Yukari quirked an
eyebrow when she noticed that the Omni-weapon didn't produce a bulge
where it was placed. With that done, Kyle moved towards the portal to
the city with Aster following behind with a slightly confused look on
her face. Before he entered though, Yukari spoke up one last time.

"One
more thing. I added a temporary feature to that music device of yours,
which'll help in finding the others. If you get close to one, their
theme song will start playing."

Kyle turned around sharply and burst out, "WHAT! You tampered with my Mood Music Maker?"

Yukari
giggled at the outburst, "It's just a temporary function and it won't
interfere with it other than when you're close to a Gensokyo resident.
Hmm, Mood Music Maker isn't really a creative name, is it?"

Kyle frowned as he turned back to the portal, "It wasn't meant to be creative, just descriptive."

Yukari
watched as the agents entered the portal, which closed behind them.
After a moment, she sighed, "I miss Ran and Chen... I've never felt
helpless before. Now, I can only hope that they can do the job."

In
the tallest skyscraper in the city, which could rival the former World
Trade Center in size, of course, was the Sue that Kyle and Aster were
after. She was about as tall as Tash, with platinum blonde hair and
wearing a beige business suit. Her personal office was also her
apartment, taking up the last five floors of the building. It was full
of the most expensive furniture you could imagine as well as at least
three refridgerators per floor, full of the most expensive drinks you
can think of. Apparently, the term, excess, means nothing to this Sue.
Currently, she had just finished a business transaction heavily in her
favor and was rewarding her "effort" with a few bottles of white wine in
a darkened room where the only source of light was a contained
fireplace.

As she was celebrating, a cloaked figure appeared
behind her and cleared his throat. When the Sue looked at him, he spoke
in a monotone, "We have detected two Agents of the Anti-Cliche and Mary
Sue Elimination Society, Miss Cerebrum Cerebellum Medulla Oblongata."

The Sue turned back to her wine almost dismissively, but then her voice, charming and deadly, asked, "Which ones?"

"Kyle
Griswold and Aster Selene, ma'am," came the monotonous reply. Cerebrum
spit out the wine she had taken a drink off and crushed the wineglass in
her hand.

"Two of their most powerful Agents. Aster's too much of
an idiot to be any trouble for you, but with the one who took down
Deary and Kaylee..."

The cloaked man chuckled monotonously before
replying, "I think you forget that I was equipped to handle him. His
power and weaponry will mean nothing when facing me."

When he had said this, what light in the room reached into his cloak and glinted off of a barely visible metal ball.

-

Kyle and Aster found themselves several miles outside the city on a
stretch of highway. Like in most movies with such a scene, the road was
almost completely empty save a car or two passing by every few minutes.
Kyle scowled at the distance to the city as he didn't know if Aster
would allow him to carry her like he did with Tash in his previous
mission. Aster was scowling the distance as well, but probably for a
different reason... I don't know what it is, I'm not an omniscient
narrator. Anyway, Kyle let his eyes wander from the city and then
spotted a payphone at a nearby rest stop. Giving Aster a quick tap on
the shoulder, Kyle rushed over to the payphone with an idea in mind.

He
had picked up the receiver and was sliding his special paycard into a
slot for phone cards when Aster came up behind him and asked, "Who are
you calling, Kyle-kun?"

"A precaution," Kyle responded as he
rapidly dialed a series of numbers. Aster merely gave him a strange look
as he waited for the call to go through. When he heard someone pick up,
he gestured for Aster to remain quiet.

"Hello... This is
Kyle... Sorry, this isn't a social call... Yes... Touhou... As a
precautionary measure... Who's available? ...Ouch," Kyle got a pained
expression on his face for a brief moment. "Tell her that I may call
upon her within the next few days... Alright... Standard fare then?... That
right?... Just make sure she's informed... Oh, he just got back?... Tell
both of them then... Yes, yes, standard fare all around... HE SAID WHAT!? ...Once I'm done with this, I'm personally
coming over there and beating him up and about the head with a hard,
blunt object... I don't care that he's currently catatonic! ...He'll still
feel it when he comes back... Alright, alright, I'll calm down... Thanks
for the sentiment... Alright, I'll let you do that in my place... I almost
feel sorry for him then... See you later... Bye."

Kyle hung up the receiver with a sigh. Aster stepped out of the way as Kyle walked away from the payphone.

"Kyle-kun, who were you talking to?" She inquired. Kyle looked at her over at her before replying.

"A
group I call on if I think I'll need their help for trouble. I'll tell
you more about it if I have to summon one of them." He faced the city,
sighing as he tried to mentally figure the distance. After a moment, he
knelt down and motioned for Aster. "Normally, I'd be against something
like this, but it'll be faster if I carry you."

For her part,
Aster merely nodded and climbed on. She was secured in place as Kyle
stood up. Taking a deep breath at the additional weight, Kyle started
running and then activated his Accelerator. They shot off, blurring as
Kyle raced towards the city. Aster was enjoying it, apparently, as she
was screaming with excitement in Kyle's ear. By the time Kyle stopped
running, they were within the city limits and just outside of a nice
park. Just then, music started playing from somewhere on Kyle. Aster
climbed off so Kyle could pull out his Mood Music Maker.

"Kyle-kun, what's that song?" Aster asked as Kyle looked at the device.

"Shunshun
Shuugetsu~Mooned Insect. It's the theme song of Wriggle Nightbug. She's
around here somewhere." He replied as he stared at the park.

"Then
let's just find her," Aster spoke as she walked into the park. Agreeing
with a nod, Kyle followed after. While walking along, they came across a
children's playground.

"Mama, you look tired." Kyle and Aster
looked over at a green haired little boy standing in front of his green
haired mother, who was sitting down on a bench. The strangest thing
about their hair, yes even more strange than the fact that it's green,
is that two tiny spots of hair stuck up like insect antennae. Kyle
recognized it almost immediately.

"Wriggle Nightbug?" He asked as he approached the bench. The kid and his mother looked at him.

"My
maiden name is Nightbug, yes. I haven't been called that in years. So
who are you and how do you know me?" The woman asked. Kyle took a moment
to think about the answer so he could compare his knowledge of Touhou
to what he was seeing.

"My name is Kyle and I'm familiar with
Gensokyo," He replied. The Wriggle that he knew from Touhou was a
Firefly Youkai who could control any insect at whim. She looked like a
child and dressed boyishly, making it easy to mistake her gender. This
Wriggle, however, was much different. Her appearance had definitely
matured, her feminine figure easy to see through her shirt and jeans.

"Ge..Gensokyo?"
She had a look of surprise on her face, but it quickly gave way as a
look of sadness sprung up. "It's been... so long. All my friends... I miss
them."

Then she started crying. She put her head in her hands and wept.

"Mama,
please don't cry. Please." Her child said as he gave her a hug. Wriggle
hugged him back as she continued to cry. After several minutes, she
stopped crying and let her child go. Her sadness was still evident on
her face when she turned back to the Agents.

"I'm sorry about that," she said.

"I
should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to bring up any painful
memories," was Kyle's response. He sat down on the bench while Aster
walked over to the playground.

"It's alright, you had no way of
knowing," Wriggle answered with a shake of her head. Her child saw that
the two adults were going to chat, so he followed Aster's lead and
headed towards the playground.

"If you don't mind my asking, what
happened to you after Gensokyo faded?" Kyle's voice was as calm as he
could make it. Wriggle turned her eyes forward and waited a few moments
before speaking.

"I was so confused. My powers were gone and I was
no different than any normal human. My friends and I would still meet
relatively often, but eventually those meetings became few and far
between until we just stopped meeting altogether. When that happened, I
just started wandering and I ended up here, in this city. After what
seemed like years of trying to adjust to living like a human, I met the
man who eventually became my husband. I've basically been a housewife
after my first child was born...I love my children, but many times, I
wish I could be back in Gensokyo with my friends again."

Kyle
listened and deeply empathized with her. Several faces passed before his
eyes, faces of people he used to hang out with, but separated from for
various reasons. His eyes closed for a few moments and then opened them
with a decisive look on his face. Standing up, he flicked a wrist and a
piece of paper appeared in his hand. Turning to Wriggle, he held it out
for her to take.

"Here, I'll let you have one of these." She took
it, looked at it for a moment and then looked up at him. He continued,
"Keep that with you and we'll be able to stay in touch while I'm in this
city. I'm staying for a few days on business. Since it involves
Gensokyo, I'll keep you informed."

Wriggle stood up and turned to
the Agent, holding the paper to give it back, "I appreciate the thought,
but I've given up on Gensokyo. It won't return and I accept that."

Shaking
his head, Kyle pushed her hand back and replied, "Keep it anyway. If
only so I have a way to reach you when I can prove that there's still
hope for Gensokyo."

Sighing at his insistence, Wriggle merely
nodded in acceptance and went towards the playground to get her child so
they could go home. Shortly thereafter, Aster came back and gave Kyle a
curious look. From aways off, Wriggle was escorting her child home when
she turned back to look at Kyle and Aster. She saw Aster piggy-back on
Kyle and then both of them seemed to just blur out of existence. Her
child looked at his mother as she seemed frozen in time. Only one
thought crossed her mind as she snapped back to reality.

..."There's still hope for Gensokyo". Please be right about that... please!

-

Several
minutes later, Kyle and Aster were walking down a slummy street. Kyle
was munching on some energy bars while Aster was walking alongside with a
manga in her hand that was given to her by Kyle. Don't ask which manga
it is, that's not important to the story. As they were passing an alley,
Kyle's Music Maker started up again.

"Meiji Juushichi-nen no
Shanhai Arisu, the theme song of Hong Meiling," Kyle spoke up, speaking
the Japanese part a bit slower than the rest of the sentence, after
listening to it for a few seconds. Aster looked up from her manga to
give Kyle a look.

"You're pretty good with that, if a bit slow in actually speaking. Did you take Japanese classes?"

"Only
for about a year or so in high school, but I'm also a big fan of
several Anime." Kyle answered with a shrug. The music stopped while they
were a couple meters away from the alley. Kyle stopped and had to put a
hand on Aster's shoulder to keep her from going on without him. Aster
looked up from her manga to watch him go back to the alley and hear the
music start up again. "That Yukari is pretty clever. To keep us from
having to do a lot of heavy searching, she made it like the game Hot n
Cold."

Aster just shrugged as she sauntered back over. When she
reunited with Kyle, they both strode into the dank backstreet. While
about half way through, someone leaped out from behind a dumpster and
put a knife to Kyle's back. Aster stopped walking but didn't look up
from her manga as Kyle once again put his hand on her shoulder.

"Take
out your wallets and drop them on the ground," came a female voice with
a slight Chinese accent. Kyle turned his head as best he could to look
at his attacker. She was a rather tall redheaded woman wearing a well
cared for, if quite grungy, Chinese style dress. She wore a hat that
matched her garb with a tarnished star on it. Kyle recognized her faster
than he recognize Wriggle.

"H-Hong Meiling!" The moment those words left his mouth, the woman's eyes widened in surprise and then she lowered her knife.

"You know who I am...you even know my name... WHO ARE YOU?"

"My
name is Kyle Griswold," was his response. He turned around to fully
face her and Aster looked over at the woman before going back to her
manga. "My current job is to restore Gensokyo."

"G-Gensokyo..."
Hong Meiling breathlessly spoke. She collapsed onto her knees as the
shock caught her in its grip. The knife fell effortlessly from her now
limp fingers. At this point, her stomach chose to signal its hunger by
growling, though she wasn't in a state to respond to it.

"Hey, are
you ok? When was the last time you ate something?" Kyle questioned as
he knelt down to check on her. Hong Meiling didn't seem to register the
question for a few moments, but then she said.

"I... I
think... about four days ago." Now, Hong Meiling is one of Kyle's
favorite Touhou characters and to see her like this made him ticked. His
face darkened to a scowl as he whipped an arm up and into his Astral
Vault. Upon seeing this display, Hong Meiling almost fainted from the
shock. When he pulled his arm out, he was holding...

"A
b-b-b-baozi...!" Hong Meiling couldn't believe her eyes, weakly reaching
up a hand to take it as Kyle was handing it to her. She stared at it
for a second before taking a hesitant bite. As she chewed, it finally
registered that it was real. Her lips smiled while she chewed, tears of
joy welling up in her eyes. The sight of her joy melted Kyle's scowl
almost instantly. Reaching into his Astral Vault again, he pulled out a
plate of baozi and set it down in front of her. Meiling was taking her
time with the first one, savoring each bite like it was the best one.
When she finished it, she exclaimed, "Delicious! I haven't had food of
my native land this good in years!"

-

Back
at the Library Arcanium, Adrian was watching Kyle on the monitor, a
precautionary measure since he was recovered from the Endless Abyss of
the Night Sky. Currently, he was feeling a bit exasperated.

"He's
been expanding his Astral Vault's stock again. I'll have to talk to him
about that." At that moment, one of the members working at the massive
computer spoke up.

"Sir, you'd better come take a look at this."
Adrian quickly strode over to the Society member. "That reading we've
been tracking within the Touhou fandom... it's getting stronger!"

Adrian frowned at the news, "the reading isn't of the Sue, that's already been checked." I've
got a bad feeling about this, yet I get the feeling that Kyle and Aster
can handle it. Whatever the case may be, I'll have a rescue team on
standby... just in case.

-

Hong
Meiling was finishing the last of the baozi as Aster bugged Kyle for
another manga for her to read. Kyle sighed before he pulled one out of
his Astral Vault and handed it to her, causing her to move away and
start reading. Standing up with renewed energy, Hong Meiling bowed to
Kyle for the meal.

"I'm in your debt for your assistance." Kyle waved it off and then replied.

"Anyway,
can you tell me what happened to you after Gensokyo's barrier faded?"
Hong Meiling sighed as she prepared to tell her story.

"It was
many years ago. At the Scarlet Devil mansion, everything was chaotic.
The fairy maids were in a state of panic because of their missing magic.
I still stood at my post by the gate as it was my job to be the guard. I
think my mistress, Remilia Scarlet, had a plan for dealing with this
crisis, though I apparently wasn't included in her plan as the head
maid, Sakuya Izayoi, had left in a hurry with Remilia's sister, Flandre.
Remilia, herself, left the next day with the mansion's librarian,
Patchouli Knowledge, in tow. She told me that all of the mansion staff
had to fend for themselves. After that, I started wandering...getting
work and food where I could get it, but it's been a lonely journey.
Somehow, I ended up in this city and haven't been able to find a job to
support myself since. I've only really survived this long because I met
others who were in similar situations."

Kyle listened while doing
his best to keep his temper down. As she finished speaking, Kyle made a
decision. "Alright then. I'll hire you."

Hong Meiling snapped her
head to look at Kyle in shock. It took a few moments for her voice to
come out, "Y-you mean it? You'll employ me?"

Kyle rubbed the back
of his head before replying, "Well, I don't really have money to pay you
with, but I can give you food and stuff in compensation." He was caught
off-guard as the Chinese youkai glomped him, taking him down while
thrown off-balance. They got back up, Hong Meiling giddy like little kid
at Christmas while Kyle could feel a headache coming on.

WIth a
sigh, Kyle spoke again, "Well, this is a step in the right direction at
least. Though, how am I going to find other previous residents of
Gensokyo?"

The Chinese youkai paused at the question, but then she
grinned and said, "I can help you with that. If you're looking for
something, it pays to have friends in low places."

Kyle looked at
her for a moment, "Those 'others' you mentioned before, right? You think
it's possible that they'd know where other Gensokyo people are?"

She
nodded, "One thing I noticed about Remilia and the others before they
left is the fact that they looked the exact same without their powers.
Having a network of friends like I do will make finding people from
Gensokyo within the city limits easy. You can find useful things among
the dredges and refuse of society."

The male Agent nodded in
agreement to her last statement. "Classic 'diamond in the rough'
scenario. Well, why are we sticking around here then? Let's get going!"

The
gatekeeper youkai cheered as Kyle got Aster's attention. Within
moments, they were out of the backstreet and on their way down the road.